Le 14 Février

Évangile de Jésus Christ selon saint Marc

(Mc 7, 31-37)

Jésus quitta la région de Tyr ; passant par Sidon, il prit la direction du lac de Galilée et alla en plein territoire de la Décapole. On lui amène un sourd-muet, et on le prie de poser la main sur lui. Jésus l'emmena à l'écart, loin de la foule, lui mit les doigts dans les oreilles ; et, prenant de la salive, lui toucha la langue. Puis, les yeux levés au ciel, il soupira et lui dit : « Effata ! », c'est-à-dire : « Ouvre-toi ! »
Ses oreilles s'ouvrirent ; aussitôt sa langue se délia, et il parlait correctement.
Alors Jésus leur recommanda de n'en rien dire à personne ; mais plus il le leur défendait, plus ils le proclamaient. Très vivement frappés, ils disaient :
« Tout ce qu'il fait est admirable : il fait entendre les sourds et parler les muets. »

Le message

Jésus prend souci d’établir une relation personnelle. Dans cette relation personnelle, Il nous amène vers le ciel, vers son Père. C’est ainsi, Il nous enseigne que toute l’ouverture vers la libération est impérativement liée vers son Père.

En prenant ce sourd-muet à l’écart de la foule, Jésus lui montre la vraie compassion, une compassion personnalisée qui lui transformera comme un vrai témoignage de la compassion du Seigneur.

Nous sommes appelés à rendre témoignage de cette compassion et la libération dont nous goûtons régulièrement dans le sacrement de la réconciliation.

In English

Gospel text (Mc 7,31-37):

Again Jesus set out; from the country of Tyre, passed through Sidon and, skirting the sea of Galilee, he came to the territory of Decapolis. There a deaf man who also had difficulty in speaking was brought to him. They asked Jesus to lay his hand upon him. Jesus took him apart from the crowd, put his fingers into the man's ears and touched his tongue with spittle. Then, looking up to heaven, he groaned and said to him, «Epheta», that is, be opened.

And his ears were opened, his tongue was loosened, and he began to speak clearly. Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone, but the more he insisted on this, the more they proclaimed it. The people were completely astonished and said, «He has done all things well; he makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak».

The message

There is a big difference between doing good and doing well. Doing ‘good’ implies, intending nothing bad and executing nothing against the other. Doing well implies, both doing ‘good’ and do it in a meticulous way, in its perfection.

By taking the man apart Jesus establishes a personal relationship with him. God always wills to have a personal relationship with us. He calls us by our name. By looking up to the heaven, He connects this man with His Father, the source of our existence. Thus He has not only done a good thing for him, but also the goodness finds its perfection in the Father, which transforms this ordinary man, to be living witness of God’s compassion in this world.

Let us look in to our own action and verify, if they really transform the person or it remains only in the periphery of doing good.